St. Helena Parish

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

9,748

100.00%

10,450

100.00%

In Poverty

3,358

34.45%

2,804

26.83%

Not in Poverty

6,390

65.55%

7,646

73.17%

11 Years and Under

2,098

21.52%

1,898

18.16%

In Poverty

898

9.21%

705

6.75%

Not in Poverty

1,200

12.31%

1,193

11.42%

12 to 17 Years

956

9.81%

1,140

10.91%

In Poverty

389

3.99%

377

3.61%

Not in Poverty

567

5.82%

763

7.30%

18 to 64 Years

5,573

57.17%

6,165

59.00%

In Poverty

1,697

17.41%

1,433

13.71%

Not in Poverty

3,876

39.76%

4,732

45.28%

65 Years and Above

1,121

11.50%

1,247

11.93%

In Poverty

374

3.84%

289

2.77%

Not in Poverty

747

7.66%

958

9.17%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.